The April 28 event is the library’s most important fundraiser of the year
Volunteers are converting the gym at Sacred Heart Church into a glen of 50 birch trees for the Riverton Free Library’s “Enchanted Forest” cocktail party.
The event, which will be from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 28, is the library’s most important fundraiser of the year.
“It’s going to be crazy,” said Karen Healey, membership chair for Friends of the Riverton Library, which is hosting the event. “It’s going to transform the gym.”
The “Enchanted Forest” theme is designed to coincide with Arbor Day, a holiday to celebrate trees that is held annually in New Jersey on the last Friday of April.
Healey said organizers acquired 50 cores from carpet rolls to use for the trees. Volunteers painted the cores white and decorated them to make them look like real birch trees. The faux trees will be illuminated and accompanied by backdrops to make guests feel like they are in a forest.
The party will feature music, dancing, an open bar, appetizers raffles and gift baskets that will be up for auction.
Healey said the Friends of the Riverton Library is hoping to attract more than 200 people to the event.
Last year, the library did not hold a cocktail social, but in previous years the event has raised an average of $7,000 for the library, Healey said.
“We’re hoping for more this year,” she added.
The Riverton Free Library is unique in that it is managed by an independent, nonprofit organization while also being a branch in the Burlington County Library System.
Healey said proceeds from Saturday’s event will go toward a number of sources related to maintenance of the library building.
“It’s going toward maintaining the building, paying the heat,” Healey said. “We also support the book budget.”
She said the fundraiser will also benefit library programs and be used to buy museum tickets to give to families that come to the library.
Tickets for the event are on sale for $25 in advance and $30 at the door and are available for purchase at the library or at select local businesses in Palmyra and Riverton. Attendees are asked to bring an hors d’oeuvre.
